Dr Burke had seats in my section at the old arena. A guy that has to be at least 90 was hit by a puck. He remained seated, bleeding like crazy. I waved my arms to get burke's attention then pointed at the old guy. Burke looked, then awkwardly put his head down. He never did help the old guy. Eventually an usher came to the rescue.

penny lane wrote:If Sid is looking for a new PR person~ Dejan wrote Frank Buonomo was fired too. Snapper knew him from NJ, I remember reading here.

About the meeting, it was Dejan who reported that, not R Rossi.

Yeah I feel bad for him, but he has a good resume to land something. He has a family, so being out of work is tough I am sure. It's hard to say what Sid's issue was with him, but it does appear that was what led to his firing.

Kharlamov wrote:Conspiracy theory:Does anyone else think that there is a resentment from players regarding the Pens preferential treatment towards stars, mainly Sid? I know star treatment occurs everywhere, and none of us have any personal connection with the Pens to know if this is true, but, a part of me thinks this approach dilutes the team concept and is damaging. Although, it really has been the Pens way of doing business for the last 25 years.

Dejan doesn't explain anything here. He makes two dots, but doesn't connect them. After Sid signed his below-value contract, the Pens also signed Tanner Glass, and Zach Parise also signed with Minnesota. Don't you see what this means? Sid was behind both of these events!

Maybe the Pens were unhappy with Burke's handling of Sid, or maybe they just saw what the Steelers were doing with UPMC and decided that would be a good model to follow. We just don't know. But it is entertaining to see the conspiracy theorists coming out of the woodwork.

True, but I really dont think its much of a reach or a real conspiracy. Whether you believe the 2 doctors and Crosbys agent who said he had a broken neck, or the specialist the pens found who said it was soft tissue - either way the Pens doctors screwed up in a major fashion. Maybe he would have anyway to do the "Steelers version" but I dont think your example makes much sense because Parise or Glass or other moves/non moves were not directly tied to a major issue with Sid. Your example would only work if say Sid used to play on a line with Glass years back and they did well.

If a day before the Pens fire their media guy who was close to Crosby and then fire their entire medical from doctors to what seems like even the guy who ordered band aids its not really a stretch to say they are connected.

To be clear: I am not complaining about either move and honestly could really care less as I am sure all of these guys will be working in no time. But dont think its a reach at all to connect some dots here. Here is an article mentioning how involved Frank was:

Dejan doesn't explain anything here. He makes two dots, but doesn't connect them. After Sid signed his below-value contract, the Pens also signed Tanner Glass, and Zach Parise also signed with Minnesota. Don't you see what this means? Sid was behind both of these events!

Maybe the Pens were unhappy with Burke's handling of Sid, or maybe they just saw what the Steelers were doing with UPMC and decided that would be a good model to follow. We just don't know. But it is entertaining to see the conspiracy theorists coming out of the woodwork.

You're spot on, Tico. That's the Trib's MO. Speculate and make implications that they can deny are false (implications aren't false) but can come off as rumor mongering clicks to their website.

jimjom wrote:He was a clown shoe doctor who embodied the old school mentality of stitch em up and get em back out there, put ice on it, etc. His style may have worked in 1993 but not now.

That's probably not a stretch jimjom, given that this is a move away from West Penn/Allegheny sports medicine (which includes Chip Burke) to UPMC sports medicine as well. Chip Burke's mentality and MO was probably infused into the West Penn/Allegheny sports medicine culture.

From an image/public perception POV, if I had to choose between either provider, it would be UPMC as it appears to be more progressive and dynamic, using the latest technology.

Burke is with UPMC. His main office is out at UPMC St. Margaret's, and he shares it with Dr. Bradley, one of the Steelers physicians. I can see why the Penguins got rid of him, as part of this overhaul/people angry about Sid's treatment. He's a surgeon, not a concussion specialist though, so I don't think he was the main person overseeing Sid's care. He's been with the team for 24 years and the overall mentality with sports medicine has changed dramatically, so clearing out that staff and bringing in some fresh blood is going to be a good thing.

He's a great surgeon though. He did my hip surgery when I was 16 and when I knew I needed shoulder surgery last year at 22, I went right back to Burke for him to do it. I refused to see anyone else.